Industry News

Solution includes Ericsson Radio System products, powered by Ericsson on-Demand 5G core network, as well as Net Feasa’sAgentic Control Tower platform

    The partnership provides the maritime industry with reliable, secure connectivity, integrated with Agentic AI-driven data management and operations

    Deployment of the solution is already under way globally. Current use cases include reefer monitoring, dangerous goods handling and early heat detection

STOCKHOLM , May 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Container shipping on the high seas, and the broader maritime industry, are set to benefit from transformative real-time agentic AI-based connectivity and monitoring capabilities, thanks to a new global partnership between Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) and international IoT service provider Net Feasa.

Secure, carrier-grade 4G/5G connectivity on-board container vessels, delivering agentic AI-ready data, will improve cargo visibility and increase operational efficiency across the maritime industry, regardless of location on the world’s oceans.

Andres Vicente, Head of Southeast Asia, Oceania and India, Ericsson, says: “Maritime operators need secure, reliable connectivity that follows the vessel, wherever it sails. Alongside Net Feasa, we are bringing onboard 4G and 5G cellular networks to the world’s container fleets, establishing the foundation for data driven operations and AI enabled services from ship to shore. With container vessels as our starting point, the scope of what we can achieve across the entire global shipping industry is immense. Together, we are shaping the future of connected, intelligent shipping.”

Mike Fitzgerald, Chairman and Founder, Net Feasa, says: “Digitalization of the intermodal supply chain is at a tipping point. With the advent of agentic AI, we are gathering data from everything that moves, analyzing and securing this data, and empowering carriers to act on this data across their operations. This landmark partnership has the potential to transform the global maritime industry not just from an operational efficiency perspective but across employee safety, cargo risk reduction and compliance.”

The growth of 5G deployments in major ports has showcased how sea-based supply chain service can benefit from connectivity – whether through smart container fleets or individual vessels at sea. Driven from the maritime hub of Singapore, the Ericsson-Net Feasa partnership will provide vessel owners, shipping companies and port operators with real-time, end-to-end visibility of cargo from the point of departure to the destination port.

The partnership will empower Net Feasa’sAgentic Control Tower, the only platform currently available that enables full visibility of all smart-enabled containers on board, and an agentic AI-ready data layer that enables proactive operations across the supply chain.

The solution, which is already being deployed globally, is designed to easily scale and connect thousands of assets per vessel. This provides shippers with flexible, future-proofed connectivity that can evolve with their digitalization strategy, as the industry matures. Reefer monitoring, dangerous goods handling and early heat detection are some of the use cases already being managed live at sea. The system allows assets to communicate, generating key data needed to act on real-time alerts at any point in a voyage.

Even the smallest of changes in state to the cargo can have implications to the supply chain, so reliable connectivity at sea as well as the analytical capabilities to understand potential consequences of any changes multiplied over long operational periods, can add substantially to efficiency savings or minimize waste or damage in the case of perishable goods.

In addition to the monitoring, handling and detection capabilities already live, the two companies have a roadmap for further use cases including extending connectivity across other types of shipping vessels and into ports – further enabling end-to-end, SIM-managed visibility and data-driven operations across a connected maritime supply chain.

Net Feasa, a fully licensed Mobile Network Operator, deploys and integrates compact, low-footprint radio access solutions on board vessels, minimizing space and power requirements while delivering carrier-grade performance. The solutions are designed to support multiple frequency bands, enabling seamless connectivity across different regions and operating environments.

The onboard networks are built using Ericsson Radio System products, including Radio 4490HP, Radio 2271, the Radio Processor 6355 with enhanced AI capabilities, and Power 6309. Ericsson On-Demand will power to deliver carrier-grade 5G core as-a-service with international roaming on a global scale running on public cloud. Backhaul connectivity between the vessels and the core network will be realized using low-earth orbit satellite.

Source : www. markets.ft.com

On May 15, 2026, the 2026 Global AIDC Industry Summit & Huawei AIDC Strategy and Product Launch was held in Dongguan, China, with the theme “Power the AI Era Forward.” The summit brought together nearly 1,000 global leaders, technical experts, and core ecosystem partners from the energy, intelligent computing and carrier sectors. They shared insights on the next-generation AI data center (AIDC) architecture evolution and cutting-edge technological innovations, as well as witnessed the launch of Huawei’s grid-interactive AIDC strategy. The sessions on AIDC power supply, AIDC liquid cooling, AI for DC operations and maintenance (O&M), and new AIDC construction mode were also held, exploring pathways to lead the industry into the AI era.

Hou Jinlong, Director of the Board of Huawei and President of Huawei Digital Power, delivered an insightful keynote speech at the event. According to Mr. Hou, the booming AI industry widely adopted large models and numerous AI agents, both of which are creating huge energy demands and accelerating the global AIDC capacity.

Electricity is essential for computing; energy is the foundation for AI long-term development. Computing and electricity will deeply synergize and empower each other, progressively building an integrated framework that brings together new power systems and AI infrastructure. Reliable power supply is crucial to the high-quality and sustainable development of AIDC while grid friendliness is vital for long-term, reliable, and stable operations. High-voltage, DC, and power-electronic architectures are critical to support ultra-high-density computing loads.

In addition, liquid cooling has become mandatory for ultra-high-density computing. Reliable liquid cooling solutions and full-lifecycle intelligent O&M are key. Moreover, the essence of an AIDC is a computing power production system, where delivery speed is closely tied to business benefits and investment returns.

Huawei Digital Power deeply integrates 4T technologies—bit, watt, heat, and battery technologies (digital, power electronics, thermal management, and energy storage management), and focuses on key fields such as new power systems and AIDC. It has established comprehensive capabilities in renewable power generation, grid forming, high-density computing power supply, liquid cooling, and computing-electricity synergy. Facing significant industry transformation opportunities, Huawei Digital Power is committed to becoming an AIDC innovation leader and a long-term, trusted strategic partner. By cooperating with global customers and partners, it aims to promote high-quality, sustainable, and innovative development of the AIDC industry to achieve greener watts, more tokens per watt, and lower costs per token.

Bob He, Vice President of Huawei Digital Power delivered a keynote speech entitled “Building Grid-Interactive AIDC, Maximizing Tokens Per Watt.” According to Mr. He, the global AI industry is booming causing token demand to surge. Consequently, the AIDC industry is entering the Token era. High-density and diversified computing pose great challenges to AIDC’s power density, scale, and load fluctuation. Moreover, the growing penetration of renewable energy intensifies power grid fluctuations, while the frequent heavy-load fluctuations of AI services further compound AIDC reliability challenges.

To address these challenges, Huawei launched the grid-interactive AIDC strategy centered on “3+1” innovations. This strategy aims to develop a reliable, energy-efficient, fast-delivered, and grid-friendly AIDC solution that maximizes tokens per watt.

• Watt Innovation: Reshaping the Power Supply from the Grid to Chips. Diversified loads determine the diversity of power supply architectures. AC and DC power will coexist for a long time. Huawei will build a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) power supply architecture centered on grid-friendly UPS and grid-forming energy storage system (ESS), which will evolve toward an integrated grid-forming energy router based on solid-state transformer (SST) technology. The architecture will leverage Huawei’s technical expertise in power electronics, grid forming, high/low voltage, and AC/DC power to flexibly meet the high-density power supply requirements of AIDC.
• Heat Innovation: Reshaping Full-Lifecycle Thermal Management Reliability from Chips to Outdoors. The ultimate value of liquid cooling lies not in equipment cooling, but in building a full-lifecyclethermal management system. Huawei has built an innovative AI-powered MW-level liquid cooling system for efficient and reliable heat dissipation, advancing the large-scale deployment of liquid cooling from availability to long-term reliability.
• Bit Innovation: Reshaping full-lifecycle operations by empowering data centers with AI.Digital and intelligent technologies can be applied across the entire lifecycle from design and delivery to operations, achieving full-link visibility, full-link reliability, and efficient full-lifecycle O&M.
• Construction Innovation: Reshaping the Construction Mode Through Engineering Productization, Prefabrication, and Modularization.The entire process of design, production, testing, and verification can be completed in the factory with installation only required onsite, significantly shortening the time to market, improving the delivery quality, and enabling fast product replication.

Bob He noted that the upper limit of AI computing power is ultimately defined by the upper limit of energy supply — Energy as Token. In the AIDC era, the traditional PUE-centric energy efficiency evaluation system can no longer fully measure the value of AIDC. The industry needs to move from “energy efficiency metrics” to “value metrics.” Huawei proposes the TokEnergy Index — the Energy-to-Token Ratio — to measure the end-to-end conversion efficiency from energy to computing power in AIDC.

Zhu Zhaosheng, Director of Huawei Computing Strategy & Business Development Dept, delivered a keynote speech on “AI Computing Trends and Development.” According to Mr. Zhu, SuperPoD aggregates as much computing power as possible which effectively addresses the “token seesaw” challenge — achieving optimal throughput and latency for tokens. At the same time, the power per rack in SuperPoD changes dramatically. From the data center facility perspective, electricity must be supplied safely and steadily, and heat must be dissipated safely and steadily. Therefore, the power distribution and thermal design of data centers need to be adjusted accordingly.

Teng Jianjun, Chief Architect of Huawei Cloud Data Center, shared Huawei Cloud’s innovative practices. According to Teng, as AI advances with hyperscale, ultra-large clusters, and ultra-high-density deployment, traditional data centers can no longer evolve efficiently. To address these challenges, Huawei Cloud is building reliable, sustainable, and secure AIDC through productization and intelligence.

Four sessions were also held during the event, delving into topics such as AIDC power supply, liquid cooling, O&M, and new construction modes. The power supply session focuses on sharing practical experience in hot topics such as computing-electricity synergy and high-voltage direct current (HVDC). The liquid cooling session focuses on high-density cooling bottlenecks and proposes the direction for liquid cooling technology evolution. The O&M session focuses on AI-powered data centers and shares benchmark practices. The new construction mode session focuses on the concepts of 3D data center construction and shares feasible approaches to rapidly build AIDC.

At the AIDC innovation exhibition area, Huawei showcased its grid-interactive AIDC solution, which covers power supply from the power grid to chips, thermal management from chips to outdoors, and AIDC inference. Huawei TaiShan UPS and HengShan DC UPS continue to lead the industry with their efficient and reliable power supply architecture. The AI-powered MW-level thermal management unit (TMU) empowers liquid cooling systems to scale from mere availability to long-term reliability.

Huawei Power POD and IT POD were also unveiled during the event. The Power POD, an integrated power supply and distribution system for data centers, provides the capacity of up to 3.2 MW in a single container. It offers plug-and-play capability and supports outdoor deployment, making it an ideal solution for flexible power supply in AIDC. The IT POD, with eight containers in one system, builds a fast-delivered, highly reliable, and energy-efficient thermal management system through cooling link productization to enable efficient cooling for AIDC

In the AI era, data centers are no longer just server rooms. They are super factories that produce tokens. Standing at the turning point of industry development, Huawei Digital Power will continue to invest in fundamental technologies and develop an industry-leading grid-interactive AIDC solution to drive high-quality industry development, maximize tokens per watt, and power the AI era forward.

Source : www.media.com

More than 300 pregnant women braved the rain and turned out at the Kasseh Health Centre in Ada for free ultrasound scanning and antenatal support services, organised by the Telecel Ghana Foundation.

This forms part of its bimonthly Rural Ultrasound initiative.

The highly patronised outreach, which forms part of the Foundation’s ongoing commitment to improving access to maternal healthcare in underserved communities, provided expectant mothers with ultrasound scans, medical reports, nutritional counselling and comprehensive antenatal education.

Women whose scans indicated early signs of complications, such as anaemia, were referred to the health facility for continued support and clinical monitoring.

Nurse Manager for the Kasseh Health Centre, Coleman Adator, said the programme is essential to improving maternal health outcomes because pregnant women require these ultrasound scans for safer pregnancies and also to encourage them to consistently attend antenatal services.

“A lot of them cannot do the scans at the private centres because of the financial expense and also the unavailability of the scanning equipment at the public health centre,” Mr Adator said.

“Having this ultrasound scan today will encourage them to come for antenatal services and help the midwives to monitor the progress of the pregnancy to improve maternal health in the district.”

Despite persistent rainfall throughout the afternoon, expectant mothers arrived in their hundreds from Kasseh and surrounding communities, with many travelling considerable distances.

The extraordinary turnout showed the extent of the unmet need for affordable maternal healthcare in rural Ghana and the high level of patronage that community health outreach can generate among the populations it serves.

Health officers used the occasion to deliver nutrition advice tailored to pregnancy, covering dietary requirements, the importance of iron and folate supplementation, and key warning signs for expectant mothers to watch.

Every beneficiary received a formal scan report for subsequent antenatal appointments and a gift package from Telecel Foundation.

Amanda Sewu, 24, said the ultrasound scan at private health centres was costly and is grateful to the foundation for the financial relief the initiative provided.

“I had to spend a lot of money on my two ultrasound scans and couldn’t continue anymore. Thanks to Telecel Ghana Foundation, I have been able to do my scan for free, and we hope they visit Ada again,” the 8-month pregnant mother said.

Another expectant mother, Sandra Agyemang Yeboah, highlighted both the quality of care and the warmth with which women were received throughout the day.

“I’m very excited to have been part of this screening. We were warmly received and well taken care of. The health professionals also educated us on proper nutrition and how to take care of ourselves during pregnancy.”

Head of Foundation, Sustainability and External Communications at Telecel Ghana, Rita Rockson, said the initiative aims to reduce maternal mortality from preventable causes, which can be detected through scans and treated early to save lives.

“Today’s high patronage is a reminder of why maternal health support is a critical need for women in rural communities. Some of the pregnant women got referrals to medical facilities that will eventually save their lives and their babies,” Ms Rockson said.

“Rural Ultrasound is tackling the risks to maternal health by reaching more communities and helping to close that gap.”

Organised in partnership with the Divine Mother And Child (DMAC) Foundation, the Rural Ultrasound initiative forms part of the Telecel Foundation’s Connected Health pillar, a programme designed to bring diagnostic maternal health services directly into underserved communities across Ghana.

By deploying qualified health professionals and diagnostic equipment to community-level facilities, the initiative eliminates the twin barriers of cost and distance that prevent many rural women from accessing essential antenatal care.

The Rural Ultrasound outreach directly supports Sustainable Development Goal 3.1, which calls for a global reduction in the maternal mortality ratio and universal access to skilled antenatal care.

Telecel Foundation said the initiative is part of its sustained effort to connect Ghana’s rural and peri-urban communities to quality healthcare.

Source :  www.myjoyonline.com

Tower infrastructure company Helios Towers is betting $110 million on DR Congo, forming part of an investment strategy to intensify the country’s infrastructure amid rapid digital adoption.

Specifically, the deal comes amid the country’s recent boom in the telecoms industry, powered by increased smartphone adoption and market competition.

With the fund, Helios Towers will be expanding its infrastructure and network coverage in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), aiming to improve access to telecoms services, particularly in rural and underserved areas.

According to the Regulatory Authority for Post and Telecommunications of Congo (ARPTC), mobile penetration rose from 56.7% to nearly 62% in Q2 2025. The increase of about 9% saw the number of active subscriptions surge to 69.4 million.

Data revenue surged to $307 million in Q2 2025, capturing 54% of the market. The result doesn’t happen overnight. In fact, DR Congo stood at an active mobile internet user base of 34.5 million, representing a penetration rate of nearly 31%, reflecting the endless demand for bandwidth. 

With the advancement in online access, the volume of data consumed has surged by almost 27%, placing significant pressure on existing infrastructure and calling for an upgrade.

Helios Towers is leading that push in a market that is considered one of the most attractive growth opportunities across its nine markets. Chief Executive Officer, Tom Greenwood, noted that while the growth is active in DR Congo, about 40 million people still lack mobile coverage. 

The deal, under an agreement signed between the National Investment Promotion Agency (ANAPI) and Helios Towers DRC, will see the expansion span across 23 provinces. This includes Kinshasa, Haut-Katanga, Kongo Central, Maniema, Ituri, Kasai Central, Kasai Oriental, Nord-Kivu, Sud-Kivu, Lualaba, Tanganyika, Equateur, Haut-Uele and Kasai.

Helios Towers operates nearly 15,000 telecommunication tower sites across nine high-growth markets in Africa and the Middle East, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as one of its leading markets.  Others are Tanzania, Ghana, Congo Brazzaville, South Africa, Senegal, Madagascar, Malawi and Oman.

Africa’s landing spot

Africa is gradually getting to a point where staying online is as important as getting home, driving the conversation on accessibility and affordability. 

The transition witnessed in the digital economy; fintechs, mobile money and other innovations, is significantly increasing internet penetration, powered by increased smartphone adoption and more time spent on apps and social media.

Data from Statista reveals that as of October 2025, Africa hosts over 570 million online users. The digital boom is credited with reshaping the continent’s economy and setting a new global technological image. Africa’s total online population is projected to soar past 1.1 billion by 2029

As more people gain access to phones and tap into the internet, the reality dawns that Africa’s vast population is making a statement: the growth is rapidly expanding, and Africa needs to upgrade its infrastructure to accommodate the increasing digital coverage. 

Helios Towers $100 investment in the DR Condo represents a fraction of this push. African data consumption is projected to increase by four times the present level in the next five years. And the tower infrastructure company is aware of this fact.

“Demand for ‌data and connectivity across Africa ⁠and the Middle East remains exceptionally strong, with our mobile operator customers accelerating investment, driving significantly increased demand for our infrastructure,” CEO Tom Greenwood said in the company’s latest earnings report.

Helios Towers is expected to add about 3,000 to 3,500 tenancies, a number of tower spaces leased to telecoms customers, in fiscal 2026. This is an increase ‌compared with its earlier estimate ⁠of 2,000 to 2,500 additions.

Source : www. technext24.com

A delegation from Huawei, led by the President of Huawei Southern Africa Region, Hover Gao, has paid a courtesy call on the Minister for the Interior, Hon. Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, at the Ministry in Accra.

The visit formed part of efforts to strengthen collaboration between the Government of Ghana and Huawei in the areas of digital transformation, technology and innovation in the country’s security architecture.

Hon. Muntaka welcomed the delegation and acknowledged the important role technology continues to play in modern security management and the national security architecture.

The Minister emphasised Government’s commitment to leveraging digital solutions to improve operational efficiency within the security sector and enhance service delivery to the public.

Hon. Muntaka also stressed the importance of strategic partnerships with reputable global technology firms such as Huawei in achieving Ghana’s digital transformation objectives.

Mr. Gao commended the Ministry for its commitment to improving security and governance systems through technology and expressed Huawei’s readiness to support Ghana’s digitalisation agenda.

He noted that Huawei remains committed to partnering with government institutions to provide innovative technological solutions that enhance efficiency, connectivity and public service delivery and expressed optimism about deepening cooperation with the Ministry and its agencies.

Source : www.mint.gov.gh

The Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications has urged policymakers and regulators to ensure Ghana’s SIM registration process is insulated from political transitions.

Speaking at the 2026 celebration of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber, Sylvia Owusu-Ankomah, stressed that Ghana’s digital transformation agenda depends on a credible and robust digital identification ecosystem.

According to her, industry players are hopeful that ongoing engagements with the National Communications Authority (NCA) will result in a more seamless and technology-driven SIM registration process that addresses concerns raised during previous exercises.

“When we talk about digital inclusion, the fundamental place we need to start from is ensuring that our digital system or our digital ID system is robust enough for us to grow. It is robust and credible enough.

“Again, the fact that we have made some past calls which have not translated into the progress we want to see, I want to urge the NCA, as we take this journey again, we know you have been working closely with us, you will stay on that course, and that the recommendations that the industry has put forward will be taken into account.

“No customer wants to go through that process again. It is a painstaking one. Today, we know that we have the benefits of technology, and we know that all of that is being factored into the conversations to make sure it is seamless,” she said.

Sylvia Owusu-Ankomah further called for the current exercise to become the country’s final large-scale SIM re-registration drive, urging authorities to build a sustainable framework capable of continuous updates without disrupting subscribers.

“More importantly, I want to emphatically say that we need to get to a point where SIM registration should not be one that is played along politically, where for every change in political leadership, we need to start all over again.

“These are systems, they are updated, they can be upgraded for us to be able to have the same level of confidence in these systems. So I urge us as we go through this one, it becomes the final one, one that we don’t come back,” she stated.

Her comments come at a time when stakeholders across Ghana’s telecommunications industry continue to push for stronger digital identity systems to support financial inclusion, cybersecurity, mobile connectivity and broader digital transformation objectives.

Source : www.citinewsroom.com

The Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovation, Samuel Nartey George, has petitioned the Attorney General to investigate the payment of $3.4 million out of a $13 million contract for the construction of the proposed Cybersecurity Authority building, which currently has only its foundation completed.

According to him, despite the initial payment, contractors Rayzone Group Limited and Mendanha and Sousa are now demanding an additional $4 million for the foundation work already executed.

Mr. George further disclosed that an additional $10 million has also been paid for software for the Cybersecurity Authority, which has not yet been delivered.

Speaking to journalists after appearing before the Public Accounts Committee, the Minister stressed that those found culpable must be held accountable, insisting that value for money must be established.

He revealed that he had, as far back as June last year, written to the Attorney General and Minister for Justice to initiate investigations into the matter, expressing concern over what he described as disproportionate payments relative to work done.

“I cannot understand how $3.4 million has been paid, and all we have is a foundation. A building is supposed to cost about $13 million, and almost $10 million of it has been paid, yet you don’t see anything beyond the foundation,” he said.

He added that there is a need for a comprehensive structural and financial audit to determine whether value has been obtained for the amounts already disbursed.

Mr George expressed optimism that the Public Accounts Committee’s interest in the matter would help trigger deeper scrutiny, including by the Attorney General’s Department.

He said if investigations establish that excessive payments were made, recoveries must be pursued in the interest of the state.

Source : www.citinewsroom.com

As digital lending expands rapidly across Africa, the Managing Director of Telecel Cash and Digital Transformation, Philip Amoateng, has said the next phase of growth must focus on long-term financial health for consumers.

Speaking at a roundtable on the topic, ‘Designing a Consumer?Centric Digital Credit and Banking Ecosystem’ at the 3i Africa Summit 2026, Mr Amoateng called for credit systems to be designed around the realities of low-income and informal sector workers, many of whom rely on short-term borrowing for daily needs.

“We must design credit products to maximise the benefits for more people than the select few to achieve a greater payout. Credit products and schemes should also be designed to support the vulnerable populations and be in their best interests.”

His comments come as Ghana’s digital finance sector continues to expand rapidly, with mobile money transactions reaching GH¢4.5 trillion in 2025, according to the Bank of Ghana. For many Ghanaians, particularly the more than 80 per cent employed in the informal sector, digital credit is increasingly used for school fees, healthcare, utilities and working capital rather than large consumer purchases.

Mr Amoateng also touched on loan recovery strategies, saying lenders must align repayment structures with the customer’s cash flow patterns to avoid creating financial stress. He called for more customer-focused recovery practices, including repayment reminders, incentives and direct engagement rather than aggressive collection tactics.

“The credit schemes and their recovery and collection process should not overburden people. If you strangle people with credit, it becomes a problem for them and their business, which can hurt their financial health in the long term.”

Mr Amoateng said that Telecel Cash utilises alternative data, such as telecom usage and mobile money transaction patterns, to support small overdrafts and short-term loans for underserved consumers and mobile money agents.

He further advocated for regulators to establish interoperable, centralised financial data pools to expand credit access and make credit status transparent to individuals.

Also speaking on the roundtable, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Digital Chamber and Chamber of Telecommunications, Sylvia Owusu-Ankomah, said stronger financial literacy is critical to ensuring responsible participation in digital credit systems.

“Achieving financial literacy will help solve a lot of the problems around the credit system. The success of the credit system and the financial health of the population hinge on strong financial literacy among the majority. We should ensure the digital credit systems are well understood by people in their language,” she said.

Moderated by Peter McConaghy, Policy Advisor for Financial Sector Development at the UN, the roundtable also featured representatives from the Bank of Ghana, the Ministry of Finance, Women’s World Banking, Fido, Affinity Ghana and Universal Pensions.

Convened by the Bank of Ghana in collaboration with Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems and the Monetary Authority of Singapore through the Global Finance & Technology Network, the 3i Africa Summit is focused on advancing innovation, investment and impact across Africa’s digital finance ecosystem.

This year’s summit, hosted under the theme “The Next Frontier: Shaping Africa’s Integrated FinTech Future,” brought together policymakers, regulators, telecom operators, fintech firms, bankers and investors to explore strategies for expanding financial inclusion and strengthening Africa’s digital economy.

Source : www.businessghana.com

MTN Nigeria says it plans to pass fibre to eight million homes over the next three years as part of efforts to deepen broadband penetration and expand digital service offerings across the country.

Tobe Okigbo, Chief Corporate Services and Sustainability Officer, disclosed this at the MTN Media Innovation Programme (MIP) Alumni “Ask Me Anything” session held on Saturday.

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MTN Nigeria says it plans to pass fibre to eight million homes over the next three years as part of efforts to deepen broadband penetration and expand digital service offerings across the country.

Tobe Okigbo, Chief Corporate Services and Sustainability Officer, disclosed this at the MTN Media Innovation Programme (MIP) Alumni “Ask Me Anything” session held on Saturday.

Okigbo said the telecom company was making significant investments in home fibre infrastructure despite challenges such as regulatory approvals, physical deployment requirements and the long period needed to recover costs.

According to him, fibre broadband differs from mobile internet services because customers pay for connection speed rather than bandwidth consumption.

He said the investment formed part of MTN’s broader strategy to gradually shift customers from mobile-heavy internet usage to fixed broadband services for home connectivity.

Okigbo noted that the global telecommunications industry was evolving beyond traditional voice and data services, driven by advances in artificial intelligence, 5G, smart devices and internet-connected homes.

He warned that telecom operators that fail to adapt risk becoming mere providers of connectivity infrastructure while technology companies capture greater value from digital services.

“The future of telecoms is no longer just about expanding coverage. It is also about building services and platforms around network infrastructure to remain relevant and competitive,” he said.

On recent tariff increases, Okigbo said the adjustments were necessary to address rising operating costs, inflation and sector sustainability concerns.

He cited increased diesel prices and other operational expenses as major factors affecting the cost of delivering telecom services in Nigeria.

According to him, tariff pricing should increasingly reflect market realities and inflation trends, while allowing consumers to switch providers offering better value.

Speaking on service quality, Okigbo said MTN had compensated customers in cases of poor network performance and remained in discussions with regulators on accountability for service failures.

He explained that discussions were ongoing to distinguish between network issues caused directly by operators and those resulting from external factors such as vandalism, construction activities and infrastructure damage.

Okigbo said MTN supported compensating customers for genuine service lapses but sought clarity on regulatory parameters guiding such liabilities.

He added that fibre deployment remained more complex than mobile network expansion because it involved physical cable installation, local government approvals and detailed service planning.

On mobile money operations, Okigbo said MTN Group had acquired a 60 per cent stake in MoMo across its markets to strengthen competitiveness and improve customer experience.

He said the future of telecoms would also be shaped by embedded connectivity, smart homes, connected vehicles and broader Internet of Things adoption.

Source : www.nigeriacommunicationsweek.com.ng

The Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications has raised alarm over the increasing number of fibre cuts across the country, warning that the situation is putting severe financial and operational pressure on telecom operators.

Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber, Sylvia Owusu-Ankomah, revealed that the industry is currently dealing with more than 8,000 fibre cuts every year, compared to about 400 annually during the early stages of network deployment in Ghana.

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the Chamber’s 15th anniversary soft launch, she explained that telecom operators are being forced to divert huge investments meant for network expansion and service improvements into repair and maintenance works.

According to her, the rapid expansion of telecommunications infrastructure over the years has increased the exposure of fibre cables, even though the growth has helped push internet penetration in Ghana from about four percent to more than 70 percent.

She described fibre cuts as one of the biggest threats to network stability and service reliability in the country.

“We are experiencing over 8,000 cuts per annum when it comes to fibre cuts, which is increasingly a strain on our operators’ resources. Resources and investments that could have been used for new rollouts are rather being used to repair damaged fibre lines and meet quality service obligations,” she said.

Sylvia Owusu-Ankomah stressed that the Chamber wants the industry’s 15-year journey to produce lasting solutions, particularly in ending the persistent problem of fibre cuts.

To address the challenge, the Chamber is advocating for the implementation of the proposed “dig once” policy, which seeks to make fibre duct infrastructure mandatory in major road construction projects.

The policy is expected to improve network resilience by allowing telecom operators to route fibre cables through protected underground ducts, reducing the risk of damage during road and construction works.

The Chamber says it is optimistic government will support the initiative, especially as discussions on the proposal are already at cabinet level.

source : www.myjoyonline.com